German Trail & Lytton Lake is a 4-mile out-and-back near Donner, CA. The route passes Lytton Lake before reaching German Trail at the turnaround, 2 miles in. It climbs 778 ft, with sections as steep as 19% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 36/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi7,005 – 7,392 ft · steepest grade: 19%4.1 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 39.32079, -120.32959
Nearest town Donner, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
German Trail & Lytton Lake
4 mi · ▲ 778 ft · 1 hr 43 min
Elevation 7,004–7,392 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: 39.32079, -120.32959
Weather Sep 5: Partly cloudy, high 55°F / low 38° · precip 4% · wind 11 mph · sunrise 6:34 AM · sunset 7:28 PM
- Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
- 0.6 miPass Lytton Lake.
- 1.1 miSharp left onto German Trail, heading NE.
- 0.4 miReach German Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.4 miSharp right, heading N.
- 1.6 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
82% dirt18% unspecified
Weather
Partly cloudyTemperature 55°F38°
Feels like31°Precip4%Wind11 mphUV5Humidity77%
Rained 0.3″ yesterday · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
55°35°
Sunrise 6:34 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:28 PM
Sun
55°35°
Mon
67°34°
Tue
70°41°
Wed
73°48°
20%
Thu
74°52°
Fri
71°47°
16%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 2.0 mi in (~62 min). Leave by 6:06 PM for the 7:28 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:43 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
More from this trailhead
- Mount Stephens–Lake Angela, 3 lakes 1.3 mi · ▲ 150 ft
- Goldilocks Wall–Lake Angela, 3 lakes 1.8 mi · ▲ 261 ft
- German Ridge via Ski Ranch Lane 2.2 mi · ▲ 328 ft
- Snowshed East Face–Snowshed, 5 cliffs 2.7 mi · ▲ 593 ft
- Signal Hill & Lytton Lake via Ski Ranch Lane 2.8 mi · ▲ 912 ft
- Lytton Lake & Hutchinson Loop 3.7 mi · ▲ 576 ft
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Hikes near Donner, California